Oregon

Portland, Oregon's City Council champion for public financing of elections, Eric Sten, is retiring having seen the Voter-Owned Elections program he fought hard to secure enter its second cycle with many candidates qualifying. The Willamette Week evaluates Sten's pet projects, including Voter-Owned Elections, and their staying power.

Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT) wrote earlier this week about the enormous amount of time he, as a legislator, must devote to fundraising for his re-election campaign. Further proof of the dominance raising money has come to assume in the lives of members of Congress comes in the form of Rep. Darlene Hooley's (D-OR) announcement today that she will retire from Congress. She cited the demands of fundraising as part of her reason for stepping down.